Acoustic Guitar Types

Created by Admin in Music Education 30 Jun 2021

Acoustic Guitars

Classical Guitar

The classical guitar has nylon strings and a wider neck than the other types of guitar and is played with the fingers of the right hand rather than a pick. It is most commonly used for playing Classical, Flamenco and Fingerstyles. Generally it is much cheaper than other types of guitar and is recommended for beginning guitarists due to the wider fretboard, making it easier to play and the nylon strings being gentler on beginner fingers.

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The Classical Guitar

As the name suggests, this type of guitar is used for classical music, but it is also commonly used for Flamenco, Folk, and World music. Some of the most famous classical guitarists are Andres Segovia, John Williams and Alirio Diaz. American fingerpicker Chet Atkins used an electric classical guitar.

Steel String Acoustic

The steel string acoustic has steel strings and is most commonly played by strumming or fingerpicking groups of notes called chords. This is the type of acoustic guitar you will hear in most modern styles of music, e.g., Top 40 Rock and Pop music. Acoustic guitars can be amplified for performances at large venues where the acoustic guitar needs amplification to be heard by using a microphone placed near the soundhole or by placing a portable pickup on the body of the guitar.

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Acoustic Cutaway

As well as the standard acoustic guitar, there is another version called a Cutaway, where part of the body of the guitar is cut back and reshaped along the side of the fretboard. This makes it easier to play notes high up on the fretboard, which is great for playing lead solos on an acoustic guitar. Many players who switch frequently between acoustic and electric prefer to use an acoustic cutaway.